Twisted
by LivForever
Summary: "The most beautiful moments always seemed to accelerate and slip beyond one's grasp just when you want to hold onto them for as long as possible."
1. Chapter 1

It was midnight when the loud sound was heard throughout the city. Everything seemed to still and lights seemed to blur together. The rain roared louder as it collided with the pavement.

"Brian! Brian! No!" Olivia ran as fast as she could to his side, throwing her cell phone to the ground, not caring if it cracked. "Somebody call a bus!"

"Brian, Bri, you hand on okay? Hang on. You don't get to do this. Damn it, Brian I told you this wasn't safe!" Hot tears were streaming down her face as she pressed down onto his gunshot wound. Deep sticky blood oozed through her fingers and mixed with the drops from the storm.

"I..."

"Don't talk," Olivia said, "you're going to be okay. The ambulance is on their way."

"S'rry..."

"Brian, you can't do this. You can't leave me and the baby. Open your eyes. Brian, please, open your eyes." She turned to look at Nick who was making his way to her side after passing the perp off to Fin. "He's not going to make it," she sobbed as Brian's breathing slowed even more.

Nick gently pushed her out of the way and took her place with applying pressure. "You need to get checked out," he said gently as the ambulances pulled onto the scene.

"I'm fine."

"Liv," Nick said and pleaded with his eyes that she would listen. He couldn't watch if they announced Brian dead and Olivia was there to see it.

Reluctantly, Olivia made her way over to one of the paramedics who inspected the cut on her head and decided it needed cleaned up. She watched from the back of the ambulance as Brian was loaded onto a stretcher and placed inside the back of the other bus. More tears gushed down her face as she realized it all could have been avoided.

Olivia paced back and forth throughout the bathroom as she waited to hear the deafening beep of her phone's timer go off. Only thirty seconds left. Thirty seconds that seemed like a lifetime. She wasn't sure what she wanted the results to read. Sure she wanted a baby but, did Brian? They hadn't even talked about it. All of a sudden the beep interrupted her thoughts and she stopped walking. Her stomach twisted in knots and she took a deep breath before walking to the sink. The few steps there felt like eternity. She looked down and instantly started crying. She tossed the stick into the trash and then made her way into the living room where Brian was watching some sports show on the television.

"Fall in?" Brian teased as he took a sip of his beer.

Olivia forced a smile. "There's something I need to tell you."

Brian reached for the remote and pressed the mute button so he could give Olivia his full attention. "What is it? What's wrong?" He could read her like an open book.

"I'm... I'm pregnant." She kept her eyes focused on carpet, afraid to see the look of disappointment on his face.

"Liv? This is amazing!"

Olivia looked up at him with a shocked look sported on her face. "You're happy?"

"Of course! Liv, I told you I wanted kids. I want them with you! This is so great." Before Olivia could process the situation Brian leaned in and crashed his lips onto hers. She smiled into the kiss. "I can't believe this," he said as he pulled away, a smile from ear to ear, "I'm going to be a dad."

"I'm going to be a mom," Olivia whispered as her eyes glossed over. Brian knew how much Olivia had wanted a child and now it was finally happening. He couldn't be more thrilled. His heart was fluttering in his chest and a million thoughts were running through his head. He had to call his mother and his sister and let them know.

"We're having a baby," he whispered as he the new found information swam through his head.

Olivia nodded and reached her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "We are officially going to be parents."

After they had spent the afternoon on the couch, Brian and Olivia decided to call his family and share with them the good news. They were ecstatic to welcome a new baby to the family and they couldn't wait to shower it with gifts and spoil it with love. Olivia was more than happy that her baby was going to have a family and it only brought more tears to her eyes.

"Hey," Brian said as he ended the call with his sister, "what's wrong?" He reached up and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"I'm just really happy," she laughed.

Brian chuckled a bit too before giving her a soft kiss on the cheek, "I'm happy too."

Olivia was excited to tell everyone at work the good news but she wasn't ready just yet. She knew if she told them that she was with child then she wouldn't be allowed to work and she wasn't ready for that quite yet. When she was further along she would definitely take off though. Just not yet.

After dinner that night when the two of them were laying in bed, the lights turned off, cuddling into one another, Olivia said, "your mom was pretty thrilled when we told her. I didn't expect her to scream like that."

Brian laughed, "yeah. She loved spoiling her grandchildren. Just ask Sophie." Sophie was his niece who occasionally spent the night at their apartment to bond with her Aunt Olivia and Uncle Brian.

"You know," Olivia said, "what I keep thinking about is the night this happened."

"Yeah?" Brian asked seductively as he rolled over so he was staring at her.

She nodded and bit her bottom lip. "What do you say we do it again; to celebrate?"

Brian didn't need to give an answer. He climbed over top of her and straddled her, kissing her passionately and working his way at getting her shirt off. He was just about to reach for her pants when her cell phone buzzed on the table next to them.

"Ugh," Brian complained as he stopped. "This happens every time!"

"Sorry," Olivia apologized before reaching over and answering. "Benson. Yeah. Uh huh. I'll be there in thirty." She hung up and placed her phone back on the bedside table. "I got a case."

"You said thirty minutes," Brian smirked, "That's plenty of time."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: If you weren't aware, Mariska is nominated for a PCA in the best dramatic tv actress. Don't forget to vote for her! (Several times.)**

"I thought you were never coming home," Brian teased as Olivia finally walked through the door. He watched her as she pulled her jacket off and slung it over the back of the couch. She seemed upset. "What's up?"

She sighed heavily as she plopped down on the couch next to him. She wrapped her arm around him and buried her head into his chest, letting a small tear trickle down her cheek.

"Hey," Brian said as he went to play with her hair, "What's the matter, Liv? What's wrong?"

"It was a little girl," she whispered, "her parents abused her and when her father shot her mother... she ran to a neighbor's for help."

Brian stopped combing his hands through her hair for a moment to plant a kiss on top of her head. "I'm sorry."

"What if we aren't cut out to be parents? I was turned down for adoption because I wasn't deemed fit." She turned her head so she was looking in his eyes.

"Olivia, you know how adoption agencies are. Unless your a celebrity or have buckets of money you generally get turned down. That doesn't mean you aren't fit to be a mother. I see the way you are with kids. Sophie loves you and you are so good to her. You're the only one who can get her to go to bed at a decent time."

Olivia let out a slow breath and she willed her tears to stop. The case today had really gotten to her, especially since she thought about the child she would soon be responsible for. "You mean that?"

"Yes, I do," Brian nodded. "Between the both of us and Mom the baby will most likely be spoiled rotten."

Olivia smiled, "That sounds about right."

Going back to the case, Brian asked, "Did you catch the father?"

Olivia shook her head and sadly replied, "No. By the time we got there he was already gone. The little girl, Cindy, gave us a photo and Nick and Rollins are working on his whereabouts. I got kicked out."

Brian chuckled, "Please don't tell me you beat somebody up."

"No," Olivia smiled into his chest as she snuggled further into his side, "but I definitely wanted to."

"How about a nice hot bath to take your mind off of it?"

"I'd like that."

Brian got up and told Olivia to stay on the couch until he called for her. He ran the bath water until it was at the perfect temperature and then searched the bathroom cabinets to look for Olivia's favorite bath beads. He wasn't sure how many he was suppose to put in so he just dumped the whole box. Then he went and gathered all of the candles he could find and lit them, placing them strategically around the dark bathroom. The flickering of the candles left wild shadows roaming on the walls.

"Paradise awaits," Brian said as he held out his hand for Olivia to grab.

"Paradise, huh?"

"Yep." Brian led her down the hallway and opened up the door dramatically to reveal the small bathroom he had worked hard at preparing. "A couple minutes in paradise and you will feel so much better." He was about to turn and leave her to soak until she grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"You aren't getting in with me?"

Brian shook his head, "I want you to relax. I'm going to cook us some dinner."

Olivia stuck out her bottom lip and her eyes instantly went to one of a puppy's, "Please? We can order a pizza when we get out... and eat it in bed." Olivia pulled her shirt off over her head and tossed it to the floor, followed by her pants. She stepped into the tub and just stood there, waiting for Brian to join her.

"Okay," he finally gave in as he worked at taking off his clothes, "but no pizza. I'd rather have Chinese."

"Deal."

Brian took his clothes and tossed them into the pile with Olivia's and followed her lead into the tub. He sat down first, leaning his back against the porcelain before pulling Olivia back to lean against his chest.

"This is nice," she said as Brian began tracing circles on her thighs.

"We only have nine more months of this," Brian said, "the peace and quiet that is. Once the baby gets here we will both be tired and grumpy."

"It will be worth it." Olivia leaned back further into him, letting him wrap his arm around her waist. She was enjoying his touch after the rough day she had had and she never wanted to leave his embrace.

Brian slowly began kissing Olivia behind her ear in the spot that drove her crazy. She closed her eyes and let out all of the tension that was in her body with one swift breath. "We can put dinner off until later," she whispered as Brian smirked against her skin.

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Brian asked as he stopped his gentle kisses and went back to rubbing her thighs in a circular pattern.

"A girl,"she said with a smile from ear to ear, "I've always wanted a girl. So I can dress her up in pretty dresses and put bows in her hair."

"I've always wanted a girl too."

"Really?" Olivia was surprised by this. She figured he would want a boy so he could teach it all about football or baseball or whatever sport it was that Brian liked.

"Really," he replied, "so she can grow up to be just like you."

This brought tears to Olivia's eyes. She sat forward and turned around to face him before leaning in and planting her lips against his. "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

"As long as she doesn't have your sass we should be good," he chuckled.

Olivia laughed too and playfully swatted him in the chest.

"Just we need in this world," Brian said as Olivia settled into him again, "Another Olivia Benson."

**Awww! Enjoy it while it lasts because next chapter things get a bit less fluffy.**


	3. Chapter 3

Olivia slammed the door shut with a heavy force, leaving Brian's ears ringing. He walked out of the kitchen to see Olivia, pacing back and forth across the living room floor. She looked deep in thought and she hadn't even noticed him watching her.

"Liv?"

"I have to pay for someone to listen to my problems," Olivia spat angrily as she continued to pace. Her face was red from anger and her mind was churning with every emotion there was. Finally, she stopped in front of Brian and looked him in the eyes. "I have to pay someone to listen to my problems..." Her voice was soft now and had in edge to it that led Brian to believe she was about to cry.

"Come here," he said reaching for her hand and pulling her to sit next to him on the couch. "I don't know what that means. You have to explain."

Olivia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I suggested to Amanda that she should see a therapist and she told me that she didn't have to pay someone to listen to her problems. She's right... I mean... I am so screwed up..." Tears pooled in her eyes as she thought back to the moment Amanda had said such harsh words.

"No," Brian shook his head, "you're not, Liv. Amanda was out of line. She was just trying to get to you."

"Well it worked," Olivia scoffed, "nothing at the precinct is the same and it's all my fault." Her voice faltered at the end as another bout of tears covered her throat.

"Olivia, look at me." Brian kept his voice calm and gentle as he chaffed Olivia's hand in between his, "none of this is your fault. None of it."  
"I don't want to talk about it," Olivia whispered as she pulled her boots off and sat them on the floor before cuddling into Brian's side.

"I'm sorry you had a shitty day," Brian offered as he began playing with her hair. He knew that it was one of the little things he could do to make her feel better.

"How was your day?" she asked, wanting to take the conversation away from herself. "I didn't even ask how your first day with IAB went."

"It was mostly spent filling out paperwork," Brian explained, "I start the real work tomorrow."

"As long as Tucker keeps my name out of his mouth there should be no problem with you working there. Working IAB makes you the boss. The big man. I kinda like that." Olivia looked up at him with a smile on her face, the smile that he had been waiting all day to see.

"Yeah? Well we could go into the bedroom... and I could boss you around..."

Olivia giggled but shook her head, "I'm too tired. I just want to go to bed. Is that okay?"

"Of course," Brian said, "let's get you tucked in."

It was only nine and the clam sauce was sitting untouched in the microwave. Brian had wanted to surprise Olivia with his cooking abilities but Amanda had clearly wanted to ruin that. He lay awake and stare at Olivia, wondering how she made it through the day at work. How did she keep her mind focused on what it needed to be focused on? How in the hell can Amanda try to make a dig at her like that? Brian was livid. He was going to have a talk with Amanda, especially after she ditched the dinner party for her douche-bag boyfriend.

* * *

"Goodnight, Liv," he whispered before making himself comfortable and closing his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

At first Brian wasn't sure what had happened. All he knew now was that Olivia was having a flashback and he needed to help her out of it.

"Look at me, Liv," Brian said, "It's Brian. You're safe. Feel your feet on the ground. That's it," he coaxed as she slowly came back to reality.

"W-what happened?" she had tears rushing down her flushed cheeks as she tried to gain some composure.

"I'm not sure," Brian said as he walked toward the now busted window and looked out. There was nobody in sight. The neighborhood was quiet. He was careful not to step on the broken shards of glass as he bent down to pick up a giant rock. He showed it to Olivia.

"It was just some stupid kids," he muttered. "I'll fix the window tomorrow. Let's go back to sleep." Brian didn't seem too worried about the window being open now but Olivia was.

"I can't," she said simply, "you go ahead. I'm just going to go watch TV." Olivia pushed the covers off of her and got out of bed, only to be pulled back down by Brian.

"Sleepover in the living room?"

Olivia nodded slowly. She was still picking up the pieces of her life but things had been getting better. With all of the new stress at the precinct things were slowly deteriorating and Olivia wasn't sure how to broach the subject with Brian.

"Liv... talk to me," Brian whispered into her ear. They were comfortably situated on the couch; Olivia on top of Brian with her head rested on his shoulder and his arm wrapped securely around her. They had spent many nights like this together.

"There's nothing wrong," Olivia said, "I just didn't feel safe sleeping in the bedroom with the window like that."

"I know you better than that, babe."

Olivia sighed. She was exhausted. The flashbacks usually wore her out and this one was no different. She just wanted to go to sleep and shut the world out for awhile. "We'll talk tomorrow," she whispered.

Brian rubbed his hand gently down her back, hoping to give her some comfort. "When you're ready, I'm here."

Olivia smiled against him and then closed her eyes, finally being able to go back to sleep.

Brian, however, didn't plan on closing his eyes. Unlike Olivia, he saw the note taped to the rock. He knew what it said. He would never tell her that though. He was sure it was just some stupid teenagers playing games. He didn't want to add any more stress into her life so he figured he would leave that little detail out. Except... maybe it wasn't teenagers playing a game. Maybe it was something more serious.

**This was just a short chapter to get the angst going. What do you think?**


	4. Chapter 4

While Olivia was at work the next morning, Brian took the time to call a repair man to fix the window and look over the note. The bold letters were etched into his memory, 'tell her to back off.' He sighed and shook his head, stuffing the note back into his pocket. He would take it to Cragen later and see if they knew anything about it. Maybe it had to do with a case that Olivia was working.

"Your window is all fixed," the repair man said as he headed for the door. Brian thanked him and handed him a twenty dollar tip for being able to come out on such short notice. When the old man had left, Brian made his way into the bedroom to make sure he had put the window in properly. While looking down at the fire escape he noticed something that he hadn't noticed the night before. It was a picture of a little girl that had been caught in the railing.

Brian lifted the window and crawled out onto the metal steps, picking up the picture and studying it. Could this have been the girl that Olivia was talking about yesterday? He remembered her saying that the little girl's father had gotten away. He stuffed the photo into is pocket along with the photo and climbed back inside, shutting the window and the icy air out. He was about to put his jacket on when he heard a noise coming from the front of the house. He looked down at his watch and noticed that it was only noon which meant Olivia was still at work. He specifically remembered locking the door behind the repair man. Very quietly, Brian made his way to the safe in his closet where he and Olivia kept their guns when they were off duty. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and texted Olivia, asking her where she was.

"Work," she had replied, "be home by dinner."

Brian texted her back telling her to stay at the precinct and he would pick her up and they would go out for dinner. He had no idea who was in his house right now but he wasn't going to have Olivia worrying. He stuffed his phone back into his jeans pocket and held his gun out in front of him. He made his way over the bedroom door so he could stand behind it, waiting for the intruder to enter the room so he could get a shot if need be.

"She's not here," a man's voice echoed throughout the house. "That detective isn't stupid enough to bring her here."

Brian took this as a chance to peak through the crack in the door and see who was talking. He saw two men wearing heavy winter coats and black beanie hats on. They were both tall and lanky and one of them walked with a limp.

"She's going to give me my daughter," the man with the limp said, "I don't care what it takes." With that said, the two men left, slamming the front door shut behind them.

Brian waited a few minutes before letting out a breath he had been holding in. He lowered his gun down by his side and pulled his phone out again. "Liv," he said frantically, "the little girl, where is she?"

"What girl?" Olivia asked a bit confused as she popped a cheez-it into her mouth.

"Cindy," Brian guessed, hoping his memory served him correct.

"She's here," Olivia answered, "we were just about to try and get some more information out of her. Why? What's going on?"

"Her dad and his friend were just in our apartment," Brian filled her in, "they want her back, Liv and they think you have her."

Olivia swallowed harshly as her mouth all of the sudden turned dry. "They were in our apartment?"

"They were looking for her. That's what the rock through the window was about. There was a note taped to it that said for you to back off."

"Bri, why didn't you tell me?"

"Like you need any more stress in your life right now!" Brian realized that he was yelling and calmed his voice, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you. You just have so much going on already and now this... I worry about you."

"I'm fine," Olivia assured him.

"I'm on my way to you know," Brian said next, "we'll talk more when I'm there okay?"

"Okay," Olivia said, "Oh and Bri?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Brian took a cab to the precinct and was there in no time. He rushed to the squad room searching for Olivia, wrapping his arms around her when he found her. He kissed her temple and said, "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm fine," Olivia assured him, "I told Cragen what was going on and he wants to talk to you."

Brian nodded and kissed Olivia again before reaching for her hand and leading her into the captain's office.

"They're after the girl," Brian explained to Cragen, "they came to our apartment expecting to find her there and they're mad at Liv for taking her in the first place."

"Are you sure it was him?" Cragen asked.

Brian nodded, "he had a friend with him too. Same height and build and he didn't have a limp."

"I don't like it already," Cragen said, "let's get the two of you put in a safe house."

"Cap, that's not necessary," Olivia began to argue, "really. Let me work the case. I can find him and bring him in and that will be the end."

"Liv," Brian said before Cragen could say anything else, "he throw a brick through our window and you had a panic attack. He broke into our apartment. You're already on edge and I want you to feel safe. A safe house is the best thing right now." He looked into her eyes and pleaded with her. His top priority was making sure that she was safe. "Think about the baby."

Olivia sighed reluctantly, there was no way she would put her baby in danger. "Alright. Fine."

Cragen and Brian nodded at each other, both feeling relieved. "I think Cindy should stay with us too."

"She's really scared," Olivia added, "I think it's a good idea."

"Okay," Cragen said, "I'll set it all up. In the meantime, see if you can get anymore information out of her."


	5. Chapter 5

"Hi, Cindy," Olivia said with a small smile as she sat across the table from the little girl. "Is it okay if I ask you some questions?"

Cindy nodded but was sure to keep her gaze focused on the toy box on the other side of the room.

"Did your Mommy and Daddy fight a lot?" Olivia began, hoping for the smallest amount of information that could help them.

Cindy nodded, "All the time. My Mommy said that we were going to move away from him and then he got angry."

Olivia could tell that Cindy was on the verge of tears and it was definitely one of the worse parts of her job. She reached her hand across the table and carefully patted Cindy's, reassuring her that she was safe now.

"Daddy said he wasn't going anywhere without getting my necklace." Cindy looked down at the heart shaped locket that was around her neck and began fiddling with it. "That's when I saw him pull the gun out... I got scared."

"Can I see your locket?"

Cindy was hesitant before saying, "My Mommy told me not to let anyone see it."

"I promise to give it back," Olivia said.

Cindy nodded before letting Olivia take the necklace off and carrying it into Cragen's office. "There has to be something important in here," Olivia explained, "Cindy said her father wanted it and her mother told her to never let anyone have it." She handed the locket to Brian who opened it up to expose a series of numbers.

"Probably a code for something," Brian suggested.

Brian was just about to pass the locket to Cragen when all hell broke lose in the squad room. Nobody had paid any attention to the man that entered the squad room because it was Johnathon's partner and they had no idea what he looked like. They suspected he was a random man coming in to give a tip or report a crime. It wasn't until Nick saw the gun that he knew other wise.

"Drop it!" Nick yelled, not missing a beat and pointing his gun at Andrew, Cindy's Dad's partner.

The next thing Olivia heard were two gunshots ringing through the air. She saw Cindy fall to the floor and Andrew falling not long after.

"Cindy!" Olivia ran out of Cragen's office and into the squad room where Cindy was bleeding out on the floor. She lifted her fingers to Cindy's chest and there was no pulse. She began crying. "I was suppose to protect her!"

Brian came running behind her, pulling her into a hug. "You didn't know, Liv."

"You're next," Andrew mumbled from only a few feet away.

Brian stood up and walked over to Andrew, giving him the dirtiest look. "What the fuck did you just say?" If it wasn't for Andrew taking his last breath right then Brian would have beat the hell out of him.

"Liv," Cragen said gently, "I want you at the safe house until we find Johnathon."

Olivia sighed and pulled her hands away from Cindy's gunshot wound when she realized that it was hopeless. "I'm sorry," she whispered to Cindy, "I'm so sorry."

….

Once Brian and Olivia had arrived to the safe house, sure that nobody had followed them, they went inside and unpacked the few things that they had brought. They weren't sure how long they were going to be there but both of them were hoping that it wasn't for too long.

"How about we take a nice hot shower?"

Olivia nodded, she was exhausted and hopefully the water from the shower would wash away all of her stresses just for the day. "That sounds nice."

Olivia rummaged through her bag she had packed to find her pajamas before joining Brian in the bathroom. He had already started the shower and steam was filling the small bathroom, causing the mirror to fog up.

Olivia stripped her blood stained clothes off and stepped in, followed by Brian. She sighed once she felt the water beat down onto her skin. Being in the water was always relaxing to her. Brian took it upon his self to lather up a rag with soap and gently begin washing Olivia. He started at her neck and slowly made his was down, moving gently and being careful not to dote on all of her scars.

"Your turn," Olivia smirked as she traded him spots and repeated the same act for him.

After the shower they had settled on the couch in front of the television watching some movie about a teacher being murdered by one of her students. They didn't have much else to do considering Cragen didn't want Olivia working on the case anymore. He promised to give her a call as soon as they discovered new information. She was pretty upset about Cindy and add that on top of everything else... Brian was worried about her.

"Are you hungry?" Brian asked as he closely eyed Olivia, "we could order a pizza."

"I think the baby likes the sound of that," Olivia smiled as she moved a hand to her stomach. Brian smiled and gently kissed her belly before searching for his cell phone and placing the order.

"It'll be about forty-five minutes." Brian sat back down on the couch and pulled Olivia close to him. His favorite time of the day was getting to cuddle on the couch with his favorite woman in the world.

"Can I tell you something and you not think I'm crazy?" Olivia broke the silence.

"Of course."

"I don't feel safe here," Olivia admitted as she closed her eyes, "maybe it's just my nerves or whatever but... something just doesn't feel right."

"It's safer than our house at the moment," Brian assured her, "and I'm right here with you. I'm not going to let anything happen."

As if on cue, a loud roar of thunder sounded in the early night sky. "That doesn't sound so reassuring..."


	6. Chapter 6

After the pizza had arrived, Olivia and Brian filled their stomachs before heading to bed. It had been a long day and both of them were more than tired. Olivia let out a small sigh as her head sunk into the softness of her pillow.

"I'll never be able to sleep with this storm going on," Olivia admitted quietly.

"I could turn on the radio? It will help drowned out the sound," Brian suggested as he scooted closer to the middle of the bed and closer to Olivia.

Olivia yawned, "that's okay. I'll eventually fall asleep."

Brian took Olivia's hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze before telling her he loved her and kissing her goodnight. Both of them closed their eyes as the storm taking place outside rummaged on.

…

It hadn't taken long for sleep to come to Olivia and before long she was sleeping peacefully with her normal quiet snore. Brian was still awake, staring at the window as flashes of electric blue lit up the room. He could hear the rain beating down heavily on the street below and the raindrops beating on the window had a calm effect on him. He had been lying awake for an hour now when he thought he heard something outside on the streets. He lay very still, straining his ears to pick up any unusual noise through the sounds of the harsh wind. When he heard voices chattering he slowly climbed out of bed, careful not to wake Olivia. He made his way over to the window and pulled the curtains back slightly, peaking at the empty streets below.

"What are ya doin'?" Olivia mumbled as she rustled around in the bed, "come back to sleep."

Brian closed the curtain and scratched his head, "I'll be right back. I have to use the bathroom." It was a lie but Brian wanted to check outside without worrying Olivia. He was satisfied when she closed her eyes and began snoring again.

Brian, thinking that whoever was outside was a bunch of teenage kids, didn't grab his gun as he made his way outside. It only took a few seconds and the next he knew he was lying on the ground with a bullet in his chest.

Olivia bolted up right in bed, breathing heavily as sweat matted her hair and caused it to stick to her temples. She had just had a nightmare where Lewis had a gun pointed at her; again. She looked next to her hoping to see Brian but when he wasn't there she panicked. "Brian?" No reply. "Brian!" Olivia's breathing wasn't calming down. She threw the covers off of her and jumped out of bed, rushing into the living room. She saw that the door was unlocked and she was sure she was going to pass out from fear. "Brian, please! This isn't funny!" She took a deep breath before opening the front door and seeing Brian's body lying on the wet concrete. "Brian! Brian! Brian! No!" Olivia ran as fast as she could to his side, throwing herself over him and applying pressure to his bleeding wound. "Somebody call a bus!"

"Brian, Bri, you hang on okay? Hang on. You don't get to do this. Damn it, Brian I told you this wasn't safe!" Hot tears were streaming down her face as she pressed down onto his gunshot wound. Deep sticky blood oozed through her fingers and mixed with the drops from the storm.

"I..."

"Don't talk," Olivia said, "you're going to be okay. The ambulance is on their way." Somewhere in the midst of everything an elder woman across the street had called 911.

"S'rry..."

"Brian, you can't do this. You can't leave me and the baby. Open your eyes. Brian, please, open your eyes." She turned to look at Nick who was making his way to her side after passing some guy off to Fin. Olivia knew it was Johnathon as soon as she saw him. She suspected that they had been close by because they had showed up pretty fast.

"He's not going to make it," she sobbed as Brian's breathing slowed even more. Hot tears were streaming down her face and mixing with her tears. She thought it was a dream.

Nick gently pushed her out of the way and took her place with applying pressure. "You need to get checked out," he said gently as the ambulances pulled onto the scene.

"I'm fine."

"Liv," Nick said and pleaded with his eyes that she would listen. He couldn't watch if they announced Brian dead and Olivia was there to see it.

Reluctantly, Olivia made her way over to one of the paramedics even though she had not been hurt in any way. She watched from the back of the ambulance as Brian was loaded onto a stretcher and placed inside the back of the other bus. More tears gushed down her face as she realized it all could have been avoided.

"I need to go with him," she whispered to the paramedic who had wrapped a blanket around her.

The paramedic nodded and led Olivia to the other bus, helping her inside and closing the doors, banging on the window to let the driver know he could pull off.

"Oh, Brian..." Olivia sat in the small seat above his head and gently played with his hair. He was struggling to keep his eyes open but he had to try for Olivia's sake.

"Don't... cry..."

Olivia forced a smile at him. It was good that he was still talking, that meant he hadn't lost too much blood. She hoped that the bullet went through and through because she needed to know that he was going to be okay. She needed him to be okay.

"I thought I was having a nightmare," Olivia whispered, mostly to herself but she knew that Brian could hear. "Lewis... he had a gun pointed to my head and it went off... then I wake and... Bri, you have to be okay. I love you, damn it! I need you! Why did you go outside?!"

Before receiving an answer the heart monitor began beeping. It was happening all over again and Olivia couldn't take it. As Brian's eyes closed so did hers and that was the last thing she remembered of that night.


End file.
